Chords for how to write a song! (for beginners/noobs)

_ _ Does this look a little something like you?
[D] Can't figure out how to write a song on your own [A] and you keep [D] trying and scribbling random things in your paper instead
[Gm] Can't figure out a chord [C] progression.
You're plucking
Scrapping things up and throwing them out along with [D] your brain that's been trying over and over and over again, but you can't figure out how
_ _ _ [C]
How do you even write a song like [Cm] how do people even do this I
Wanted to write a [A] song for my crush in class, [D] but how am I supposed to do that now?
Hey you
Huh me?
[C] Yes you
Who are you?
Wait, where are you?
Why are you in my head?
I'm [D] actually like next door.
But um, [G] I mean
[D] _
I'm the ghost of bomb-ass [Am] writing and I have the answer [E] to your problem.
Oh ghost [Am] of bomb-ass [Gm] writing
Tell me what I must do [Ebm] very well then watch this and it shall show the way
_ [Gb] _ _ [Gb] so you probably clicked on this [B] video because
Either [A] you're a noob or [G] you're a noob that doesn't know how to write
That's cool, too
And you really don't know how but I see you [Gb] want to be an artist you want [Em] to be a songwriter and I heard you
Want to write to impress [D] someone in class?
And [G] that's totally [Gb] cool, too.
No matter what the reason [G] is I'm gonna help you out
I [Cm] got you and by the end of this [G] video you'll have a better
Understanding and just be ready [A] to write your own song [G] to be honest
There's no right or wrong way to write a song you [Dm] can literally start with anything that [Cm] you're comfortable with or [Dm] just do whatever comes [D] first
But for [G] the sake of this video and for [Cm] structure's sake let's follow these steps
So first and foremost what I like to do [C] is set together the [Cm] topic or just like the story
vibe of what you're trying to go for
[Fm] Set your intentions like what is it that you're trying to squeeze out of yourself?
And what is it that you're trying to express?
[G] Is it about how in love you are with someone how much you make mistakes?
[Abm] Maybe [Ab] about a really bad day
Now [C] my trick is to be [F] very [Cm] very specific about what I want to write about because the clearer the story
The easier it is [Fm] for ideas or just lyrics to come to me as I write [F] and since newbie McNoob face over here wants [G] to
write a song about [Cm] love and for their [Cm] crush, let's
Break it down and figure out like [Bb] what is it about love that we're trying to write about?
Is it about [C] the first time that they realize that they really liked [Cm] this person and it's like [C] the best feeling ever
But [F] at the same time it's very soul-crushing
Because like [Bb] oh my [Bb] god, I like this person and I don't know what to [Bm] do with it
And [Eb] I apparently told them and now I don't know what to do with my [G] entire life Yeah
[Db] So if that's the story [Abm] and if you have a story then let's tie it all together
And we're [Eb] ready to move to the very next step
The next step that I like to do is to find a chord progression that I really like so take [G] out your handy-dandy
[Bb] instrument
_ And
Choose some chords that [Am] fit the mood and if [Db] you don't know how to play an instrument or maybe you don't know how to come
[E] Up with a chord progression.
Don't let that stop you because I got [G] you
All you gotta do is pull up a random [Bb] chord progression generator and keep generating different
progressions until it just [C] feels like exactly what you're going [A] for and
Be mindful of the [D] chords you're choosing since each progression [C] conveys a different mood
That's the [C] main thing you should focus [G] on the [Eb] mood
The kind of chords don't [Db] matter too much
Especially [C] when you're just starting off anyways, like [F] a good song is a good song
No matter what chords are using you can use [Em] a singular chord if you [C] want
And if you can do that then power to [Dm] you and you can use [Dbm] simple chords like [C] no basic [G] C
G a [F] minor and F if you want or you can go a little crazy and do some [Db] weird-ass jazz
If you want, but either [C] way it's about it's about your story.
It's about [Bbm] what you have to say
So I think for [E] me what I'm gonna go for is this E major 7 [G] and this A major [A] 7
So it's [E] gonna go like _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ One of the hardest things I think for beginners [Ab] to pick up is the melody like how does [Bb] it just naturally come to [Eb] you?
How do you write a melody?
Especially if you've never written a song before if you've been writing for a long time
Or if you've been working with music for a while, you know that melody kind of just like comes out of nowhere
It just pops [Ab] up randomly when you're in the toilet in the shower taking a walk
So what I like to do is to have [C] a recording app just running in the background and recording everything [Bm] that you're playing or humming
You can use voice [Gm] memos or my favorite
Evernote [Ebm] because it allows me to write lyrics and [Ab] record right into the note.
So it's very [G] convenient
so I'll have that pulled up [C] and
Set aside and we can [Eb] start recording
So the easiest way to come up with a melody for beginners [E] is to just have your chords looping and then you start
Singing a singular note, but just focus on the rhythm _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ And then you can go up
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ And now you can go down _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ And [Ab] then combine everything that you've learned [E] to kind of come up with a melody _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ That's how you do it and you kind of keep on going and going and so you find a melody that sticks
Or a melody that you just can't get out of your head _
_ _ _ _ [Gb] So I just came up with a melody that I really liked and so I'm gonna play it for you
So [Abm] it goes like _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ And so now that we have a melody we can move on to [Gb] the next step which is writing the lyrics
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _
Please grant me the [F] power to write a bomb-ass song
Your wish is my command
Thank you.
[A] I think coming up with the lyrics is the hardest [Bm] part to writing a song
I feel like [E] this is the part where people [B] have creative block [Em] and just can't come up with what they want to say
Like I know [Dm] beginners and also just like people [E] who have been [B] doing music for the longest [F] time who have trouble coming up with the lyrics
[E] Or coming up with the right line at the very [Am] end of their song like it's totally normal
[Gbm] And you shouldn't beat yourself up [G] for it
Like sometimes you just have to let [D] the faucet run and just [A] let all the dirty water
[B] Flow out before any of the clean water comes in and once you have the melody [G] to your song you can start coming up with
the lyrics [Dm] that could fit into that [F] structure [G] so
Usually what [A] I do is I would just kind of sing gibberish or just [E] random words and whatever sticks
[Em] I just kind of write [Bm] down [B] on my phone, or I just scribble it out on some [E] paper _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] there's something about the way
[Abm] Something about [E] the way you
looked at me
I kinda liked that
there's something about the way
Something about the way
you [A] look at me
Okay im gonna write that down hold on
_ _ [E] _
there's something about the way
something about the way
you [A] look at me, you completely see through me.
And ooh, possibly, _ ooh, possibly you [A] already know
cause I've [E] put on a show.
So the next [B] thing I'll talk about is structure.
[Db] I feel like for beginners
and also just songwriters of all levels, we know about the pop [Abm] structure, which is [B] the verse one
pre-chorus, [E] chorus, verse two pre [Dbm]-chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus.
It's [Db] such a universal [B] structure
and everyone uses it, but if you don't want to [Em] use it, that's totally cool too.
You can come up
with your own structure, [E] but as a beginner, I feel like it's very helpful to just have structure
there so that you know what [Db] to follow and it kind of eases you into [B] songwriting.
And after you've
figured out how to write a song and you've got the [Em] basics down, [E] I'm gonna sprinkle in some tips
so that you can figure [Ab] out how to write some better lyrics.
What I found helpful for me
is reading some poetry.
So [B] before I read poetry, [Em] I kind of sucked [E] really bad at writing lyrics and
just [Dbm] coming up with ways to [Db] say what I felt.
But after reading some poetry, [Abm] I was able to see
just [Em] different ways or honestly very artistic and creative ways [B] to say simple, simple things [Dbm] and
just make it so [Db] profound.
Another thing that I found really helpful for me is [B] to make a playlist
[Em] and just study [B] the songs that you like the most.
So I [E] would just create a playlist of my favorite
songs that I look up to songwriting-wise [Db] and I would do copywork.
So what copywork is for
[G] songwriting is [Bm] taking a song that you really like, taking [Db] the lyrics of the song and copying it word
by word, whether you're writing it out or typing it and analyzing each [Abm] line, each stanza.
[B] Writing
the lyrics out yourself and having it in front of you helps you see from the artist's [B] perspective
and when you're writing in the [Dbm] artist's style, it kind of helps you [Db] come up with your own.
[Ab] The third
tip I'll add in [B] here is to journal.
So what I like to do is to just write down as [Abm] many ideas as I can
throughout the day, every day, [G] or whenever you feel [Cm] like it honestly.
You can write about how you feel
throughout the day [F] or just let yourself free flow and spit out trash.
[Dm] Write about puppies, cookies,
[C] or anything that [D] comes to mind because what it does for you is that you'll [C] have these ideas in
your book and when you're going through creative block and you don't know what to write about, you
[Dm] can always reference back to these days when [Gb] you're feeling the most or not feeling [C] like anything and
you can have things to write about.
For me [Ebm] personally, sometimes when I'm feeling the [C] most
on some days, I just want to write everything [A] out and not have to think about a song, you know?
[D] So I'll have that written down and on [D] a day that I feel like [Gm] writing, I'll look back on my entry and
try [Cm] to write about it then.
[A] _ _ [E] _ _
_ Wait, did I just- did I just finish the whole entire song?
[N]
Yes.
_ [Cm] For real?
Mm-hmm.
_ _ [Dm]
Well, get better. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [F] _ _ _ [Dm] _